Microsoft Word - RMU Social Media Guidelines

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RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines

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  RevisedJuly,2016

IfyouarepromotingaRobertMorrisUniversity‐affiliatedorganizationoreventthrough

awebsitelikeFacebookorTwitter—orevenconsideringit—you’renotalone.Social

mediaoutletsareincreasinglypopulartoolsforengagingtargetaudiencesand

developingrelationshipswithcustomersandorganizationalstakeholders.Unlike

traditionalmediaoutlets,inwhichinformationgenerallyflowsinonedirection,social

mediaoffersahighlyinteractivecommunicationmethod.It’sbesttothinkofsocial

mediaasanongoingconversationthatinvolvesagreatdealofback‐and‐forthwitha

numberofpeople.Becausesocialmediaoffersdirectaccesstoatargetaudience,it’san

idealmethodfortakingyourmessagestraighttothepeopleyouwanttoreachthe

most.Manysocialmediaoutletsalsooffertheopportunitytoexaminestatisticsthat

showhoweffective,orineffective,yourcommunicationsare.Thisguideprovidesthe

basicsonseveralsocialmediaoutletsandofferssuggestionsastohowyoucan

maximizetheirpotential.Youshouldconsiderthisguidebooktheofficialuniversity

policywhenitcomestoRMU‐relatedsocialmediaactivity.

RMUrecognizestheimportantrolethatsocialmediaplaysincommunicating,

collaboratingandinteractingwithstudents,faculty,staffandthegeneralpublic.We

encourageyoutousesocialmediatoconnectandengagewiththeRMUcommunityand

yourconstituents.

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TheseguidelinesapplytoallmembersoftheRMUcommunity,includingstudents,

faculty,staff,administrators,andallotheremployeesoftheuniversity.Remindersand

bestpracticestohelpguideyourparticipationinRMUsocialmediaeffortsinclude:

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YouarerepresentingRobertMorrisUniversity

Regardlessofwhetherornotyou’repostingaboutRobertMorris,asanaffiliateofRMU

youarealwaysrepresentingtheuniversity,sopleasebemindfulofwhatyoupost.

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Respectintellectualpropertylaws

RMUrespectsandupholdsthepropertyrightsofauthorsofcopyrightedmaterials.Itisa

violationofRMUpolicytoengageinanyactivitythatinfringesontheintellectual

propertyrightsofothers.ToseetheITusagepolicy,visit

http://studentlife.rmu.edu/residence‐life/policies/it‐usage‐policy

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Relyonyourteams

RobertMorrishasaholisticgoaltoeducationourstudentsandmaketheirexperiences

thebestpossible.Onewaytomakethishappenissupportingotherdepartments’social

mediaoutreachtotheiraudiences.CollaboratingbetweenourSchools,divisions,

departmentsandprograms,acrossyoursocialmediaplatformswithhelpusallreach

ourgoals.

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RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines

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  RevisedJuly,2016

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OnceontheInternet…alwaysontheInternet.

Nothingescapescyberspace.Knowthatwhenyoupostsomethingonline,itisnearly

impossibletodeletealltracesofit.Sobemindfulofyouraudience.Youareallowedto

showyouropinionanddisagreewithothers,butcreatingordistributinganydisruptive

oroffensivemessages,includingcommentsaboutrace,gender,appearance,disabilities,

age,sexualorientation,religiousbeliefsandpractice,politicalbeliefs,ornationalorigin

isprohibited.

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Handlinginappropriateposts

Youmaycomeacrossapostthatisinappropriateoronethatdoesnotcoincidewith

yourownpersonalviews.Rememberthateveryonehasarighttohisorherown

opinion.However,inacasewhereanRMUemployeeorstudentpostscontentthatis

againsttheethicspolicy,actionmayneedtobetaken.Ifyouseeaninappropriatepost,

pleasecontactthePublicRelationsandMarketingDepartmentimmediately.Ifthepost

posesanimmediatethreat,contactRMUPublicSafety.

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ThePR/MarketingDepartmentdoesmonitorallofitssocialmediapagesandwill

intervenewithanegativecommentwhennecessary.Generally,wehavethreecourses

ofactionwecantakewhencomingacrossanegativecomment–ignore,

delete/hide/respond.

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Ignore‐Ifthecommentisaboutwhysomeonedisagreeswithsomethingtheuniversity

posted,wewouldgenerallyignorethis.Ifsomeonepostsaboutanawfulexperience

theyhadatRobertMorris,wewouldignorethis.

Delete–Ifthecommentisanoffensivecommentthatdoesnotcomplywithourpolicy

andethicsguidelines,wewoulddeleteorhidethecomment.Generallytheperson

complainingwillonlywriteonenegativecomment,inwhichwewoulddelete/hideit.

Mostofthetime,thisisthelastwehearfromthatperson.

Respond–IfapersonpostsanoffensivepostaboutaspecificpersonorentityofRMU

multipletimes,wewoulddelete/hidethepostsandthenrespondtotheperson.

Dependingonthesituation,wewilleithersendthepersonaprivatemessage,or

respondtotheircommentspublically.

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Allcontent,informationandviewsexpressedonlinebelongtotheindividualpostingthe

contentanddonotnecessarilyreflectRMUofficialpoliciesorpositions.Theuniversityis

notresponsibleforunansweredpostsorinaccurateinformationpostedbyothers.

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RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines

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  RevisedJuly,2016

GENERALSOCIALMEDIAGUIDELINES

Formanysocialmediaoutlets,startinganaccountisaseasyassettingupanemail

addressorshoppingonline.Inmostcases,you’llneedtoprovideatleastacontactemail

addressandsetupapassword.Certainsocialmediaoutletswilloffertheopportunityto

includeotherinformation,suchasawebsiteandgroupdescription,onyourpage,as

well.

Amongourrequirementsisthatyouincludethe“RMU”acronymor“RobertMorris

University”intheusernameforyouraccount.Ifuniversity‐affiliatedgroupsalladhere

tothatnamingconvention,thenindividualswhoarelookingforRobertMorris‐related

accountsonvarioussocialmediaoutletswillknowthattheycanmerelysearchfor

“RMU”or“RobertMorrisUniversity”tofindthoseaccounts.

Mostsocialmediaoutletsallowuserstoincludeapicturewiththeiraccountaswell.You

maybeinterestedinusingaRMUlogoforthataspectofyourpage.Everyofficial

university‐relatedaccountneedstoincludeaversionofoneoftheofficialRMUlogos

somewhereprominentlyonthesite.

Asyoumaybeaware,RMUhasseveraldifferentlogos,andwehavedeveloped

guidelinesforwhichlogoshouldbeuseddependingonthecircumstances.Please

consultwiththoseguidelinesbeforeusingotherlogos.YoumayrefertotheIdentity

StandardsManualonlineforspecificdetailsonappropriatelogousage.

Whenestablishingasocialmediapresence,it’simportanttodevote anadequate

amountoftimetomaintainingit.Becausesocialmediafacilitatesaconversation,you

don’twantthatconversationtofallsilentfortoolong.Plantospendatleastanhour

eachdayupdatingthesite(s)andrespondingtocomments.

Insomeways,youcanbeefficientwithyoursocialmediatasks,though.Ifyou’resetting

upmultiplesocialmediaaccountsforthesamegrouporevent,keepinmindthatsome

web‐basedtoolsallowyoutoupdatemultipleoutletssimultaneously.Thisapproachis

particularlypopularamongindividualswhousebothTwitterandFacebook,for

example.

Aswithanyinteractioninwhichyourgrouporeventisrepresentingtheuniversity,

socialmediacommunicationsshouldbeappropriatetoyouraudience.Neveruse

profanityorotheroffensivelanguage.Wealsorecommendthatyouresistthe

temptationofgettingintoanongoinge‐battlewithasocialmediauser.Youcandefend

yourselforyourgroupagainstunfaircriticismtoareasonableextent,butcarryingon

theconversationinanattempttogetthelastwordwilllikelybealosingbattle.Many

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RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines

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  RevisedJuly,2016

socialmediaoutletsallowyoutoreviewcommentsbeforetheyareposted,andto

deleteoffensivecomments.Weurgeyoutotakeadvantageofthosefeatures.

Somesocialmediaoutlets,suchasthoseinwhichyoucan“tag,”orpubliclyidentify

individualsshowninphotos,alsomayhavelegalconsiderations.Youmaywantto

developsomeprocedureforobtainingpermissionfrompeopleinthepicturebefore

postingaphoto.Copyrightissuesmayalsoarise,andyoualwayswanttobeonguard

againstlibelandslander.PleaseconsultthePR/Marketingteamforguidanceonsuch

matters.

CREATINGAFACEBOOKPAGEORGROUP

TosetupaFacebookpage,youfirstneedtohaveanindividualprofile.Ifnooneinyour

organizationhasaFacebookprofileyet,it’seasytocreateone.JustgotoFacebook

(www.facebook.com)andentertheinformationrequested:name,emailaddress,

password,gender,andbirthdate.Thenyou’llbeabletosetupapagefollowingthese

steps:

1. Whileloggedintoyourindividualprofile,selecttheCreatePageoptiononthe

left‐handsideofyournewsfeed.

2. Chooseoneofthesixoptionsforthecauseofyourpage:LocalBusinessorPlace;

Company,OrganizationorInstitution;BrandorProduct;Artist,Band,orPublic

Figure;Entertainment;orCause orCommunity.

3. Afterclickingoneofthesixboxes,fillouttheinformationthatisbeingasked.For

example,choseacategoryinthedropdownmenu(CauseorCommunityboxis

theonlyonethatdoesnothaveadropdownmenu),insertthenameofthe

organization,personorcause,andthenclicktheblueGetStartedbutton.Be

suretopickanameforyourpagethatincludesRMUforuniversity‐affiliated

groups!

4. Filloutmoreinformationofthepage.Inthe“About”tab,describewhatthepage

isabout.Youcanalsolinkothersocialmediasorwebsitelinkstothepageyou’re

makingunderthedescriptionbox.Whenfinished,clicktheblue“SaveInfo”

button.

5. Now,youcanselectaprofilepictureforthepage.Therearetwooptions:upload

fromyourcomputerorimportantfromawebsite.Onceyouhavechosenthe

picture,clicktheblueSavePhotobutton.It’sbestpracticetouseaphotosthat

prominentlydisplaysyourcustomRMUlogo.

6. IntheAddtoFavoritestab,youcanselectthegreenbuttonAddtoFavoritesto

haveyourpageshowupinthetopofyourlistedpageitemsonyourFacebook



RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines



  RevisedJuly,2016

homescreenforeasyaccess,orpressSkipifyouprefernottohavethispage

listedatthetop.

7. ThePreferredPageAudiencetaballowsforyoutosetdemographicsofwhoyou

wishtoviewyourpage.FilloutanyrestrictionsyoudesireandclicktheblueSave

button.

8. Youhavejustcreatedyourpage!

AFacebookgroupcanbesetupinasimilarfashion.Inyourindividualprofile,clickon

theCreateGroupoptionontheleft‐handsideofthenewsfeed.Clickingonthatbutton

willbringupaformthatasksforbasicinfoaboutthegroup,andafterthegroupis

created,youcaninviteinterestedmemberstojoin.

DELETINGAFACEBOOKPAGEORGROUP

IfyoueverneedtodeleteyourFacebookpage,it’sjustaseasytodoso.Inthetopright

corner,thereisadownwardfacingbluearrow,clickit.Hereyouwillseeallofyour

pageslistedatthetopofthelist.Clickthepageyouwanttodelete.Onceonthatpage,

clickSettingsinthetoprightcorner.Thiswillredirectyoutoalistofaltercationsyou

candotothispage.ScrollallofthewaytothebottomandyouwillfindRemovePage.

Clickthisline,anditwillthenchangetoPermanentlydelete“PageName.”Clickthat,

andthepagewillpermanentlybegone.

Deletingagroupisdonetheexactsamewayasapage.

Afteryourpageorgroupisupandrunning,you’llwanttopostupdatestocommunicate

withyourfollowers.Whenyoubringupyourpage,therewillbeaboxatthetopthat

says,“What’sonyourmind?”Youcantypewhateveryouwanttosayintothatbox,

then,clickontheblue“Share”button.Keepyourstatusupdatesasshortaspossible.

Youcanpostalink,photo,orvideotoyourpagethroughthismethod,too.

ThebottomlineisthatitisworsetohaveaFacebookpagethatisnotregularlyupdated

thannottohaveoneatall.Ifyoucan’tdevotethetimenecessarytomaintaininga

Facebookpage,pleasecontactthePR/MarketingDepartmentaboutusingouruniversity

socialmediachannelstogetinformationtoyourconstituents.

TWITTER

Withits140‐characterlimit,Twitteristheidealsocialnetworkingsiteforthosewho

prefertokeeptheirupdatesshortandsweet.Avarietyofcompanies,organizationsand

individualshaverecognizedthevalueofusingsuchbriefmessages—alsoknownas

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RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines

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  RevisedJuly,2016

microblogging—forgettingoutthewordabouttheirefforts.Infact,thenumberof

Twitteraccountshasincreaseddramaticallyinthepastfewyears.

Twitteralsoallowsitsuserstoreachbroaderaudiencesthanmostothersocial

networkingsites.UnlikeyourFacebookfriends,youmaynotnecessarilyknowyour

Twitterfollowerspersonally.

Inmostcases,youareabletofollowaTwitteraccountwithouthavingtoobtainthe

user’spermissionfirst.Oftenyou’llfindthatotherTwitteruserswillfollowyourfeed

merelybecauseyoufollowedtheirs.YourtimewillbewellspentinsearchingforTwitter

userswhomightbeinterestedinyourgrouporactivity.

CREATINGATWITTERACCOUNT

AllyouneedtocreateaTwitteraccountisausername,passwordandemailaddress.

1. Clickonthe“SignUp”buttoninthetoprightcornerofTwitter’shomepage.

2. Enteryourfullname,yourusername,yourpassword,andyouremailaddress.

(NotethatTwitteronlyallowsoneaccountperemailaddress,soifyouhavean

existingTwitteraccount,you’lleitherneedtodeleteittousethatemailaddress

foranewaccountorselectadifferentemailaddresstouse.)Ifyouarecreating

anofficialTwitteraccountforanRMUorganization,youneedtoincorporate

RMUintoyourusername,asitwillmakeiteasierforpotentialfollowerstofind

you.

3. ReadtheTermsofUsagedocumentincludedonthepage.

4. Clickon“CreatemyAccount”togetupandrunning.(Doingsoalsoindicatesthat

you’veagreedtotheTermsofUsagedocument.)

Afteryouraccountisestablished,youcanmakechangestoitviathesettingspage.If

youeverwanttochangeyourusernameoremailaddressassociatedwiththeaccount,

youcandosothere.Youcanaddaphototoyourprofile.Youcanalsochangeyour

password,designateifyouwanttoapproveotherTwitterusersbeforetheycanfollow

youraccount,ordeactivateyouraccountthroughthesettingspage.Youcanalso

changethevisualaspectsofyourTwitteraccountbyswitchingwallpaper.TheRMU

PR/MarketingteamhascreatedanumberoftemplatesavailableforRMU‐related

Twitteraccounts.

Thefirstthingyou’llwanttodoaftersettingupyouraccountisfindotheraccountsto

followandencourageexistinguserstofollowyou.Alertyourmembersandanyother

peopleinterestedinyourgroupthatyou’renowonTwitter.YoucanalsofindTwitter

usersinanumberofdirectories.PopularonesareTwellow(www.twellow.com),

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RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines

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  RevisedJuly,2016

Wefollow(www.wefollow.com),JustTweetIt(www.justtweetit.com)andTweetfind

(www.tweetfind.com).

WHENTOTWEETANDWHATTOSAY

NowthatyouknowmoreaboutTwitterlogistics,it’stimetocoverthefrequencyand

contentoftweets.Wesuggestthatyoutweetatleastonceaday,andmorethanthatif

possible.Youdon’twanttoover‐extendyourself(oryourfollowers),though,sodon’t

feeltheneedtotweeteveryhouronthehour.Thattypeoffrequencymayoverwhelm

yourfollowers,andyoumaynothaveenoughqualitycontenttoaddtoyourfeedifyou

trytotweettoooften.

Speakingofcontent,allsortsofthingscanmakegoodtweetfodder:eventupdates,

linkstointerestingblogpostsornewsitems,retweets,oreveninspirationalquotes(be

suretocreditthesourcewhenyouusethatlastoption).Whendevelopingyourtweets,

keepinmindthatyou’llwantthemtohaveapersonalizedtonesimilartothatofyour

Facebookupdates,butin140characters(orfewer).Remember,althoughyou’re

engagingthemincyberspace,you’restilltalkingwithregularpeople.Thisconversation

isn’tallthatdifferentfromoneyoumighthaveatacoffeeshopwithafriend.



YOUTUBE

Fororganizationswithastrongvisualcomponent(thinkperformingartsgroups,

athletics,etc.),postingvideosonYouTubeisagoodwaytoreachbroaderaudiences.

Billingitselfasthe“largestworldwidevideo‐sharingcommunity,”YouTubeisapopular

websitethatallowsuserstosharevideosandtagthemforeasysearching.Organizations

andindividualscancreatechannelsonYouTubetohousealloftheirvideosinoneplace,

andotherYouTubeuserscanthensubscribetothosechannelstoensurethatthey’ll

keeptabsonnewitemsofinteresttothem.

CREATINGAYOUTUBEACCOUNT

ThefirststepinusingYouTubeiscreatinganaccount.Goingthroughthatprocessallows

apersonororganizationtocreatechannels,establishaprofile,commentonother

users’videos,connectwithFacebookandTwitteraccounts,andahostofother

activities.AnewYouTubeusercreatesanaccountinthefollowingsteps:

1. Clickon“SignIn”onthetopright‐handsideofthepage.

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RobertMorrisUniversitySocialMediaGuidelines

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  RevisedJuly,2016

2. Signinwithanemailandpassword.GoogleownsYouTube,andallRMUemail

domainsarerunbyGoogle,soifthisisauniversity‐sanctionedpage,it’sbest

practicetouseyourRMUemployeeemail.Iftheaccountisintendedfora

university‐sanctionedgroup,pleaseuse“RMU”aspartoftheusername.

3. ReviewtheTermsofUseAgreement.NotethatYouTubeusersareprohibited

frompostingcopyrightedmaterialiftheydonotownthecopyrightthemselves.

YouTube’sCopyrightTipspageoffersguidanceondeterminingwhencopyright

violationisanissue.

4. Clickon“IAccept”atthebottomofthepagetocreatetheaccount.

AfteryouhavecreatedaYouTubeaccount,youcanmoveforwardinanumberofways.

Themainmenucanbefoundbyclickingonyourusernameatthetoprightcornerofthe

page.Oneofyourfirststepsshouldbetoaddadescriptionandprofilepicturetoyour

YouTubepage.YourYouTubepagewill houseallyourvideos.

Tobeginuploadingvideos,clickthe“upload”buttoninthetoprighthandcorner.A

videocanbe“public,”whichmeansanyonecanseeit,“unlisted,”meaningonlythose

withthespecificURLcanseeif,and“private,”meaningonlyyoucanseeit.Whenyou

clickupload,itwillaskyoutochooseafilefromyourcomputer.Thisprocessworksina

fashionsimilartoattachingadocumenttoanemail.



LINKEDIN

Thissiteisdesignedtohelpmembersconnectonlinewithpeopleintheirprofessional

networks—clients,friends,andcolleaguesandsupervisorsfrompastandpresent

employers.LinkedIn,whichisfreetojoin,allowsmemberstocreateprofilesthatlist

theirprofessionalexperienceinadditiontootherbasicdetails,suchasnameand

contactinformation.Thesitehassearchfunctionsthathelpmembersfindcontactsin

theirnetwork.Italsoallowsclients,supervisors,andco‐workerstooffer

recommendationsonmembers’work.Asisthecasewithsomanysocialmediaoutlets,

LinkedInofferstheopportunitytocreateandjoingroupsbasedonsimilarprofessional

interests,geographicallocation,andothersharedcharacteristics.Groupmemberscan

thenjoinindiscussionsandsharenewsitemsthatmaybeofinteresttoothermembers.

LinkedInalsofeaturesajobsearchfunctionthatrecommendsparticularopeningsbased

onmemberprofilesandexperience.Withitsfocusonprofessionalconnections,

LinkedInisausefultoolforgroupsordepartmentsthathavecareerpreparationand

developmentasafocusarea.

